IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO.
4, JULY/AUGUST 2020 4400111
Wavelength Demultiplexer Designs Operating Over
Multiple Spatial Modes of a Rectangular Waveguide
Miri Blau and Dan M. Marom , Senior Member, IEEE
Abstract—Wavelength demultiplexers are instrumental in wave-
length division multiplexing (WDM) communications. In advance
of space-division multiplexing (SDM) WDM communications, we
investigate wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer designs operat-
ing over multiplexed spatial modes simultaneously, when the modes
are arranged along one transverse direction of a rectangular wave-
guide. The demultiplexer waveguides’ modes match those of rect-
angular core fibers, enabling simple and efficient edge-coupling.
We describe the challenge of demultiplexing mode division multi-
plexed (MDM) channels, and suggest guided optics solutions for
its implementation. We analyze the spatial–spectral interplay at
output waveguide coupling due to mode dependent phase delays in
arrayed waveguide grating router demultiplexer design, and offer
low mode dependent loss solutions. The proposed schemes allow for
efficient and compact MDM-enabled WDM multiplexing, paving
the way to SDM-WDM communication networks.
Index Terms—Fiber optics and optical communications, planar
lightwave circuits, multiplexing.
I. INTRODUCTION
NTRODUCING space-division multiplexing (SDM), on
I top of the established solution of wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM), attracts the attention of the optical fiber
communication research community as a capacity multiplier
that addresses the looming capacity crunch in today’s single
mode fiber (SMF) based networks. SDM-WDM networks and
their realization [1], [2] are expected to economically scale the
transmission capacity in support of the expected traffic growth
ahead, after all other capacity-enhancing measures have been
exhausted. SDM transceivers, preferably on a single photonic
integrated circuit (PIC), spanning spatial superchannels will fur-
ther drive costs down via resource sharing of a single laser source
and reduce receiver DSP load through common impairment
estimates [3]. It is further desirable that the SDM transceiver
interface to a single SDM fiber (i.e., multi-core, multi-mode,
or their combination), and be subsequently wavelength multi-
plexed onto the SDM-WDM transmission link (as depicted in
Manuscript received November 28, 2018; revised February 27, 2019; ac-
cepted March 25, 2019. Date of publication May 22, 2019; date of current
version July 15, 2019. This work was supported in part by the European Com-
munity’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement
619732 (INSPACE), and in part by the ISRAEL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
under Grant 473/17. The work of M. Blau was supported by Shulamit Aloni
Fellowship provided by the Ministry of Science, Technology & Space, Israel.
(Corresponding author: Miri Blau.)
The authors are with the Applied Physics Department, The Hebrew Univer-
sity of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel (e-mail:, miri.blau@mail.huji.ac.il;
danmarom@mail.huji.ac.il).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JSTQE.2019.2909166
1077-260X © 2019 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
Fig. 1-c) due to simplified wiring. Such an implementation
appears identical to its SMF counterpart yet contains mode di-
vision multiplexed (MDM) channels [4]. Current WDM mul-
tiplexers support the fundamental mode only, hence in order
to interface to an SDM transmitter, multiple, parallel WDM
multiplexers are required (matching the number of SDM chan-
nels) as well as mode mux/demux elements [5]. With existing
single-mode wavelength multiplexers, SDM transceivers can
interface to the common SDM-WDM fiber with either a single
multi-mode (or multi-core) output fiber containing the spatial
information (Fig. 1-b), which then needs to be mode demulti-
plexed, wavelength multiplexed and finally mode multiplexed,
or with multiple SMF output fibers, to be wavelength multi-
plexed and mode-multiplexed together (Fig. 1-a). Both schemes
reliant on multiple wavelength multiplexers are cumbersome.
Research leading to a simple wavelength multiplexer operating
over MDM has been relatively scarce. This fact can be explained
by two main challenges: (i) coupling spatially intricate, circu-
larly symmetry fields to a planar waveguide platform and (ii) the
interplay between spatial mode structure and spatial dispersion
when attempting to couple to an output demultiplexed wave-
guide (resulting in irregular passband shapes, modal crosstalk,
and mode dependent losses-MDL). Consider the latter point,
when coupling spatially dispersed multi-mode light to an accept-
ing stationary waveguide. Let the dispersed light be defined by
 
dx
ψl x + (ω − ωc ) , y (1)
dω
where ψl (•) is the spatial mode profile of the l’th mode and
its argument defines the mode position as a function of carrier
frequency ω (with ω c being the center carrier frequency).
Note that using this ideal spatial dispersion definition, without
any modal dependence, implies all the modes are identically
dispersed in the x-direction. The accepting waveguide supports
the same spatial modes yet stationary in space, ψl (x, y). Hence
the power coupling of the dispersed light to the accepting
waveguide is defined by the overlap integral:
   2
 dx 
2 
|ηk l (ω)| = ∫ ∫ ψk x + (ω − ωc ) , y ψl (x, y) dxdy 
∗
dω
(2)
The coupling should be calculated for each frequency, due
to spatial shifts of the dispersed modal positions, and between
all combinations of input and output modes (hence the k, l
a
subscripts, denoting mode pairs). Coupling of LP01 , LP11 , and
4400111 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 2020

Fig. 1. Interfacing options from SDM transceivers to a WDM-SDM common communication fiber. (a) Single mode interfaces, requiring multiple external
single-mode wavelength multiplexers (matching the number of modes, M), followed by mode multiplexing. This arrangement presents a fiber management
challenge. (b) Multi-mode interfaces, requiring spatial demultiplexing feeding multiple single-mode wavelength multiplexers and finally mode multiplexing. Both
arrangements (a) and (b) offer opportunities for component integration. (c) Multi-mode interfaces followed by wavelength multiplexing operating over multi-mode
transmission. Fiber connectivity and component count is as simple as today’s single mode counterparts.

Fig. 2. Power coupling between dispersed modes and stationary modes, sim-
ulating wavelength demultiplexing for MDM channels.
b
LP11 modes as a function of spatial (hence frequency) dis-
placement result in ill-shaped passbands and modal crosstalk
(Fig. 2). These occur due to the varying overlap between spa-
tially displaced (i.e., spectrally dispersed) and stationary wave-
guide modes, being strongly dependent on the specific field
distribution of the spatial modes, and crosstalk arises since or-
thogonality is not preserved for the offseted fields, in this case
b
LP01 and LP11 . crosstalk. Our design goal is to have equal spatial dispersion
Nevertheless, there have been some strides in creating de-
vices supporting wavelength multiplexing for MDM. In [6]–[8],
a mode demultiplexer followed by multiple wavelength demul-
tiplexers were demonstrated on a single silicon PIC, for SDM
and WDM co-demultiplexing. This functionality is depicted in
Fig. 1-a. However, this is not the functionality we desire, our
goal is to wavelength demultiplex MDM signal using a single
WDM demultiplexer, without the need to mode demultiplex the
MDM signal, as shown in Fig. 1-c, avoiding the use of multiple
demultiplexers. Ref [9] presented a single arrayed waveguide
grating router (AWGR) which, again, combined mode and fre-
quency co-demultiplexing. The AWGR supported the funda-
mental LP01 mode as well as only one of the degenerate LP11
modes (oriented in the dispersion axis). However, since the mode
multiplexing in this AWGR is based on the space symmetry of
the LP01 and LP11 mode field distributions, this design cannot be
scaled to support higher order modes (either symmetric or asym-
metric). In [10], spatially demultiplexed modes were fed into a
single multiple-input/multiple-output AWGR demultiplexer fol-
lowed by mode multiplexing to achieve WDM demultiplexing
operating over SDM. Each SDM channel feeds one of the in-
puts of the AWGR, instead of a spectral channel. Hence this
method is limited to low mode and wavelength channel counts.
Finally, in [11], a multi-mode AWGR design was presented and
its performance analyzed. The fundamental problem of modal
dispersion in AWGR was presented, and for this reason the
fabricated MM-AWGR realized low spatial dispersion and very
coarse WDM channel spacing of 50 nm (at center wavelength of
850 nm).
To address the challenges of wavelength demultiplexing mode
multiplexed channels, we consider spatial modes defined by
rectangular waveguides constrained to be single mode in one
direction (width, defined by lithography) and multi-moded in
height (Fig. 3). This waveguide configuration can be designed
to match the mode structure of rectangular core fibers (e.g.,
core dimensions of 6 × 32 μm, for index contrast of 0.3%)
[12], and allows for direct interface to this SDM fiber vari-
ant and realization of an MDM demultiplexer. By dispersing
the signals along the single mode axis, the coupling to the de-
multiplexed output waveguides is devoid of spatial structure
which is the source for the ill-shaped passbands and modal
over all guided modes, allowing for wavelength demultiplexing
MDM channels without introducing excessive mode dependent
shifts and losses. Equal spatial dispersion can be obtained in a
free-space arrangement, using lenses and a diffracting grating.
Planar guiding devices, as AWGR and Echelle grating (Fig. 3-
center/right) face the challenge of each propagating mode ac-
quiring different phases due to their corresponding effective
indices. The different mode propagation constants within the
planar device give rise to modal dependency in their spatial dis-
persions. This undesired modal dependency must be minimized
to reduce mode dependent wavelength shifts in the demulti-
plexer performance.
Both Echelle grating and AWGR-based demultiplexers can
disperse the propagating modes by imparting wavelength
dependent delays across the beam aperture. It is the additional
BLAU AND MAROM: WAVELENGTH DEMULTIPLEXER DESIGNS OPERATING OVER MULTIPLE SPATIAL MODES
Fig. 3. Rectangular core fiber and demultiplexers. Left: RCF and its supported, polarization degenerate spatial modes. Center: AWGR-based demultiplexer,
designed to disperse the modes along the single mode direction. Right: Echelle-based demultiplexer.
mode dependence in these delays that impacts the demulti-
plexer performance. As guided modes’ effective indices always
span the range between the core and cladding refractive in-
dices (ncladdin g < nef f < ncor e ), the Echelle modes would
exhibit greater spread as they are confined in one direction
only within the free propagation region (n2ef f = n2cor e − κ2y d2 ,
with multiple spatial modes wavevector’s projection in the y
direction, κy , are supported, while d is the guiding layer’s
height), whereas the effective indices in two-dimensional wave-
guide confinement of the AWGR are more closely packed
(n2ef f = n2cor e − κ2y d2 − κ2x a2 , with multiple spatial modes and
κy supported and a single wavevector projection in the x direc-
tion, κx , and a is the waveguide width. Since we wish to reduce
the propagation delay spread in the demultiplexer designs, we
will pursue AWGR-based demultiplexer designs in the remain-
der of the paper (on the most part).
In this paper we propose wavelength demultiplexer designs
for MDM channels, whose modal information is perpendicular
to the axis of dispersion. We outline the performance bounds
caused by the addition of multiple spatial modes. We suggest
realizations for a wavelength demultiplexer operating over mul-
tiplexed spatial modes by minimizing the modal dependency of
the spatial dispersions. Finally, we show numerical test cases
for the suggested realizations, and discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of each solution. For the first time, to the best
of our knowledge, a viable wavelength demultiplexer for MDM
is proposed for communication wavelength band and rate. The
proposed solutions are scalable to higher rates, as well as higher
mode counts, enabling efficient WDM multiplexing over spa-
tially multiplexed channels in a passive device.
II. MULTI-MODE AWGR DEMULTIPLEXER UTILIZING
RECTANGULAR WAVEGUIDES
The operating principle of the multi-mode AWGR demulti-
plexer is identical to that of conventional single-mode AWGR
demultiplexer [13]–[15]. We first describe the operating princi-
ple of conventional AWGR demultiplexer having single mode
(SM) waveguides based on the analysis of [16], and defer the
full analysis of the multimode AWGR to Appendix A.
Let an input single mode waveguide carrying wavelength
multiplexed channels feed a first free propagation region hav-
ing confocal input-output surfaces. The guided light from the
input waveguide now freely diffracts/diverges within the first
4400111
free propagation region, and at the output surface excites an
array of waveguides, each longer than the other by ΔL. The
waveguide array routes the identical copies of the input sig-
nal (containing all wavelength channels now in a single mode
waveguide array) to a second free propagation region. Each
waveguide in the array acquires a unique phase delay, differ-
ing from one waveguide to the next by a fixed phase difference
Δϕ = 2πnef f ΔL/λc . Here λc is the center design wavelength,
and nef f is the effective index of the waveguide. The length
difference ΔL is chosen such that the phase delay is equal to
2π·m for the center wavelength, where the integer m is the
diffraction order. The free spectral range (FSR) is defined as the
frequency period of the AWGR, and is inversely proportional to
the waveguide length difference and hence the diffraction order:
F SR = νc · nef f /(m · ng ), where νc is the center carrier fre-
quency in Hertz and ng is the group refractive index. The FSR
must be larger than the frequency band spanned by all channels
to enable individual wavelength access.
The light emerging from the waveguide array into the sec-
ond star coupler constructively interferes, i.e., is focused, at a
particular position x depending on the relative phase delays ac-
quired in each waveguide of the array for respective wavelength.
The lateral focus position shift obtained, or spatial dispersion,
is the key to demultiplexing and the output waveguides will be
located to collect specific wavelength channels. The impinging
light is collected by output waveguides, which completes the
demultiplexing operation.
In the case of waveguides that are multi-moded, we express
the acquired phase delays per propagating mode and frequency.
Assuming the AWGR is designed for the fundamental mode and
center frequency, we derive the acquired phase delay for every
frequency component and mode l (see Appendix A):
  
dβ (ω, l) 
Δϕ (ω, l) = β (ωc , l) + (ω − ωc ) ΔL
dω ω c
 (l) 
(l)
nef f ng (ω − ωc )
= 2πm (0)
+ (0) , l = 0, 1, . . . , M − 1
n n ωc
ef f ef f
(3)
where β and dβ/dω are the propagation constant and its first
derivative and M is the mode count. The acquired phase delay
depends on each spatial mode’s effective index and group in-
4400111 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 2020
Fig. 4. Left: AWGR’s input free propagation region, with significant physical parameters highlighted. Right: Depiction of output fields at the second free
propagation region, having different wavelengths, modes, and diffraction orders. Gray rectangles denote output waveguide locations for collection of demultiplexed
channels.
dex (see eq. 3). As an outcome, the spatial modes are spatially
displaced (i.e., dispersed) on the output plane as a function
of both frequency and spatial mode. For wavelength demulti-
plexing operation the spatial mode dependence is undesired, as
it introduces mode dependent wavelength shifts to the output
waveguide, similar to polarization dependent wavelength shift
resulting from birefringence of SM AWGR devices [17]. The
extent of the spatial mode wavelength shift will determine the
AWGR demultiplexer performance.
The spatial-spectral position of each mode at the AWGR
output plane focuses according to (see Eq. A12 in Appendix):
Ψl (x, ω) ∝
   (l)

(l)
1 λ0 R nef f ng (ω − ωc )
G x− j + m (0) + m (0)
Δ nslab · p n n ωc
ef f ef f
(4)
Here Ψl denotes the field of mode l, whose position depends
on the diffraction order, j (where j = −m is the designed grat-
ing diffraction order), the free propagation region size, R, the
(l)
array pitch, p, the waveguide effective index nef f and the aver-
age effective index of the free propagation regime nslab .1 The
optical carrier frequency is ω, and G(•) is a Gaussian func-
tion approximating the waveguide’s fundamental mode in the
dispersion axis, and we find the mode position from its argu-
ment. We see that the position at the output becomes both mode
dependent and frequency dependent (the required spatial dis-
persion) and excites multiple diffraction orders. For example,
the fundamental mode l = 0 at the center frequency ω = ωc
(0) (0)
will be located at x(ωc , 0) = xF S R (j + m · nef f /nef f ) where
xF S R = λ0 R/nslab · p is the displacement between the AWGR
diffraction orders, which yields x(ω c ,0)=0 for j = −m diffrac-
tion order, while mode l at the same frequency will focus at dis-
(l) (0)
placed position x(ωc , l) = xF S R (k + m · nef f /nef f ), where
we substitute k for j in the diffraction order. For a wavelength
demultiplexer we wish to minimize the modal positional shift,
1 Note that the different spatial modes experience slightly different, mode
dependent effective refractive indices with the free-space regime. This very
slightly effects the diffraction rate, and hence the number of excited waveguides,
as well as the absolute phase delay acquired by each mode, which bears no
impact.
hence the difference:
 (0) (l)

nef f − nef f
x (ωc, 0) − x (ωc, l) = xF S R j−k+m (5)
(0)
nef f
From the equation above we can analyze the two param-
eters influencing the modal shift: The effective index spread
and the diffraction order. For the conventional assumption
of identical diffraction orders, k = j = −m, the modal off-
set at the AWGR output plane is: x(ωc, 0) − x(ωc, l) = m ·
(0) (l) (0)
xF S R (nef f − nef f )/nef f .
A depiction of the dispersed fields at the output of the second
free propagation region is shown in Fig. 4-right, assuming equal
ng for all modes. Wavelengths are linearly displaced along the
spatial coordinate, realizing wavelength demultiplexer. Since
each spatial mode has a slightly different effective refractive
index, an additional offset will be present per mode. For demul-
tiplexing action, we desire having many isolated wavelength
channels within the FSR.
For the multi-mode AWGR to function as a wavelength de-
multiplexer, all the modes pertaining to a particular wavelength
need to couple into a common stationary multimode waveguide
(yet SM in the dispersion axis). Since the modes are spatially
dispersed, they will each have unique coupling efficiency to the
common waveguide due to the spatial offsets, leading to MDL.
Nevertheles there is no modal crosstalk within our wavelength
demultiplexer, since the dispersion axis is orthogonal to the one-
dimensional spatial content.2 We utilize the restrictive MDL
definition, i.e., the ratio between maximum and minimum loss
modes [18], although the standard deviation definition will give
relaxed results. The standard deviation MDL metric is more ap-
propriate to device cascades. We wish to design the multi-mode
AWGR such that the spatial modal spread, x(0)−x(M-1) (where
M-1 is the highest order mode supported), limits the MDL to
an acceptable value. We choose 1 dB as our MDL target, place
the common waveguide in the center, and derive a bound on the
2 Note that there may be mode mixing at the fiber/planar device interface due
to spatial mode mismatch. Unraveling such mode mixing of the device interface,
together with that experienced in fiber microbends, is possible at the receiver
with MIMO-DSP.
BLAU AND MAROM: WAVELENGTH DEMULTIPLEXER DESIGNS OPERATING OVER MULTIPLE SPATIAL MODES
modal offset (as a function of the Gaussian mode size, Δ):
 
2 ((x (0) − x (M − 1)) /2)2
|ηcou plin g | = exp −
Δ2
≥ −1 dB ⇒ x (0) − x (M − 1)
 200 GHz (Δλ = 1.6 nm) channel separation. Substituting the
≤ 2Δ 0.1 ln(10) ≈ 0.96Δ (6)
using the same diffraction order (k = j = −m in Eq. 5) we find
the condition:
 Hence, our condition for spatial modes effective index spread
(0) (0) (M −1)
m · N ≤ 0.96 · nef f / nef f − nef f (7)
which ties the spatial offset to the fundamental parameters of
the AWGR. N is defined as the effective number of arrayed
waveguides (see Fig. 4-left): N = λ0 R/(nslab Δ · p), i.e., far
field mode size divided by pitch of the output waveguides. In
deriving Eq. 7 we ignored the effect of group velocity mismatch
between modes, hence there is a spectral dependency, and we
will need to define the minimal acceptable bandwidth for the
MDL limit we established.
In a similar way, we need to establish the acceptable minimal
crosstalk to the adjacent wavelength channel (we set at −30 dB),
whose waveguide is at position xch = (dx/dλ) · Δλ, where
(l) (0)
dx/dλ = ng mR/(nslab p · nef f ) is the mode-dependent spa-
tial dispersion, and Δλ is the demultiplexer channel separation,
which we wish to minimize. The adjacent wavelength wave-
guide position should therefore satisfy:
 
2 xch 2
|ηcr osstalk | = exp − 2 ≤ −30 dB
Δ Alternative path to decrease the effective index span is to de-
 sign the waveguides of the AWGR to support a larger number
⇒ xch ≥ 6 ln(10)Δ ≈ 6.9 · Δ (8)
This waveguide position is also limited by the modal spread;
To avoid crosstalk the distance between channels must be mea-
sured from the highest mode of one spectral frequency to the
fundamental mode of the next channel. Hence the effective min-
imal offset xch is increased by x(0)-x(M-1). By equating the
positional shift due to wavelength spacing of the AWGR de-
multiplexer and adding the modal spread (Eq. 6), we can obtain
the condition for the channel separation:
xch ≥ 6.9 · Δ + (x (0) − x (M − 1)) ∼
= 7.8 · Δ (9)
From which we obtain:
m · N ≥ 7.8 · λc /Δλ (10)
Thus, we have two conditions relating to the product m·N.
One condition tries to minimize it (the modal spread, Eq. 7) and
one tries to maximize it (for denser wavelength spacing, Eq. 10).
The significance of this term relates to the resolving power of the
AWGR, which is determined by the total path length difference
of the waveguides, which is easily shown to relate to m·N. Let
us try to estimate some reasonable values for the AWGR design:
(M −1)
10−3 , we
(0) (0)
let λc = 1550 nm, nef f
1.5, and nef f − nef f
can equate the values of m·N from the two conditions above
(Eqs. 7 and 10) and obtain Δλ∼6.4 nm∼800 GHz, which is too
coarse for practical use. Hence it is paramount to decrease the
mode spread.
4400111
III. SOLUTIONS FOR DECREASING WDM CHANNEL SPACING
IN MULTI-MODE AWGR DEMULTIPLEXER
We focus our design effort on the conventional telecom band,
1528–1563 nm spanning ∼35 nm. The C-band width sets the
FSR and maximal diffraction order at m ≤ 45. We target a
spectral parameters (central wavelength and spectral separa-
tion) in Eq. 10 we obtain the minimal value for the product
m · N ∼ 4250.
(0)
(derived from Eq. 7) is nef f − nef f
(M −1)
≈ 2 × 10−4 , a very
tight effective index range. In this section we suggest five ap-
proaches for minimizing the modal spread and obtaining an
AWGR supporting multimode channels. We describe each ap-
proach and discuss the pros and cons of each.
A. Very Low Index Contrast Waveguides
Decreasing the modal spread can be obtained by decreasing
the core/cladding refractive index contrast to a level where the
modal spread is small enough to enable sufficient spectral sep-
aration as well as low MDL. The drawback of this approach is
that low index contrast will result in large waveguide dimen-
sions, providing poor overlap with rectangular core fiber, and
necessitate very large bend radii for keeping bend losses low
(leading to increased chip size).
B. Selective Mode Excitation in a Highly MM AWGR
of modes and excite only a subset (the first M) of spatial modes.
This reduces the spread of effective refractive indices especially
for well confined modes whose refractive index monotonically
converges to ncor e . In a rigid planar waveguide geometry, ran-
dom mode coupling is less likely. However, scattering from
sidewall roughness may induce energy transfer to unused modes,
add mode dependent loss, and mode mixing.
C. Weakly Coupled Multi Core AWGR
Another option is to use weakly coupled multi core waveg-
uides (vertically stacked) for realizing the AWGR. The coupled
waveguides support supermodes, whose structure resembles the
rectangular core modes. The effective refractive indices of the
supermodes will be relatively closely grouped and become more
tightly bound as the separation increases. Of course, the limit
of this approach is simply a vertical stacking of single mode
AWGR demultiplexers, which is effectively another form of
spatial diversity. This method requires very precise deep and
vertical etching of the waveguides during fabrication.
D. Modal Offset Compensation Through Mid-Way Mode
Conversion
As the modal phase offset is accumulated when propagating
through the device, we can compensate for the modal delay vari-
ation by converting the highest order mode to the fundamental
4400111 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 2020
(and vice versa) half-way through the AWGR. This way the
modal phase delays acquired will be equalized. This conversion
technique is realized successfully for polarization offset in sin-
gle mode AWGR due to birefringence with a half wave plate
[17]. However, such specific mode conversion is more difficult
to create for spatial modes, and will be needed for multiple pairs
simultaneously with high mode counts. Mode converters utilize
long period grating (LPG) for phase matching the effective in-
dex difference [19], which requires long interaction length as
well as unique LPG for each effective index difference or spatial
mode pair.
E. Modal Offset Compensation Through Multiple Diffraction
Orders
Since the AWGR radiates with multiple diffraction orders,
we can take advantage of them and compensate the modal offset
using the neighboring diffraction orders. Instead of all modes
utilizing the same diffraction order and attempting to minimize
the modal spread with respect to the spatial dispersion, here we
increase the modal spread with respect to the spatial dispersion
and allocate a diffraction order per spatial mode such that they
overlap in space. To obtain this compensation, the modal offset
has to match the diffraction order spacing, xF S R , such that
successive orders overlap. Using the modal offset expression at
the AWGR output (Eq. 5), and setting it zero, we have:
 (0) (l)
 at the center of the C-band.
nef f − nef f
x (ωc, 0) − x (ωc, l) = 0 = xF S R j − k + m (0)
nef f
(11)
As the diffraction orders j and k are integers (with j as-
signed to the fundamental mode and equaling -m), we require
that the last term in the parenthesis be an integer as well, for
any spatial mode l. This condition can only be satisfied if the
modes’ effective indices are equally spaced. We define the ef-
fective index difference between two adjacent modes as Δnef f ,
(0) (1)
i.e., Δnef f = nef f − nef f , hence the numerator evaluates to
(0) (l)
nef f − nef f = l · Δnef f . The integer criterion for the last term
in the parenthesis of Eq. 11 can be refined, requiring it to match
the mode number l, from which we find:
(0)
nef f − nef f
(l)
l · Δnef f
m (0)
=m (0)
nef f nef f
(0)
nef f
= lΔnef f = (12)
m core. We considered very high index glass core [22], [23], with
which further means that the utilized diffraction orders are at
k = −m + l, such that the fundamental mode is at order −m,
the second mode at −m + 1, etc., yet they overlap in space at
x = 0 for the center frequency ωc . However, since the spatial
dispersion term dx/dλ further depends on the unique group index
of each mode and the utilized diffraction order, the compensation
at frequencies away from the center is reduced.
The use of multiple diffraction orders and the design require-
ments for their overlapping in space are thus equally-spaced
refractive indices and relatively large modal spacing. We can
(0)
estimate the latter by assuming nef f
1.5 and m = 45, hence direction, the only source of crosstalk will be roughness of the
Δnef f ≈ 3.3 · 10−2 . As discussed above, larger modal sepa-
rations are easier to obtain in one dimensionally constrained
waveguides, i.e., slab structures, lending this technique more
amenable for an Echelle grating solution. Furthermore, it is pos-
sible to obtain equally spaced refractive indices by designing the
guiding refractive index profile to be parabolically shaped [20],
[21] preferably in high index materials e.g., SiON or highly
doped glass [22], [23].
IV. NUMERICAL EVALUATION OF TEST CASES
In this section we demonstrate by numerical simulations po-
tential solutions of the five options for SDM-supported wave-
guide grating routers described previously. All demultiplexer
cases are designed to support 4 spatial modes with 1.6 nm spec-
tral separation in the C-band (200 GHz spacing). The first chan-
nel is at 191.6 THz, the last channel is 195.8 THz with 22
channels supported. We set the channel bandwidth for the MDL
limit to be 37.5 GHz.
Finite element method was used to numerically solve the
effective and group mode indices of the spatial modes in the
waveguides, while the output of the multimode AWGR is ob-
tained analytically using Eq. 4. The coupling to the output wave-
guide is then evaluated by performing the overlap integral per
mode and frequency. In each numerical case, we plot the channel
characteristics of the two adjacent wavelength channels located
A. Very Low Index Contrast
For a low refractive index difference waveguide we as-
sume a silica-based AWGR, with very low core doping. For
nclad = 1.44398 with Δin dex ∼ 0.01%, height = 152 μm and
width = 14 μm, the waveguide supports four spatial modes
in the vertical direction and is single moded in the horizontal
direction (as required), see Fig. 5. The computed effective index
spread is nef f − nef f ≈ 2 × 10−4 . The output of a multimode
(0) (3)
AWGR based on this waveguide is also presented in Fig. 5.
Although the modal spread and the spectral separation are ac-
ceptable, the dimensions of the waveguide will make coupling
in and coupling out a difficult and lossy process, in addition to
large chip size and large bend radii due to the large mode size
of the supported modes of the waveguide.
B. Selective Mode Excitation in a Highly MM AWGR
Next, we examine a higher refractive index difference wave-
guide, supporting a high mode count in a small sized waveguide
ncore = 1.78, nclad = 1.444, width = 1.8 μm and height = 25 μm,
the waveguide supports more than 15 spatial modes in the ver-
tical direction. The refractive index range of the first 4 modes
is within 2 × 10−4 , according to the limit we set in Section III.
The output of the AWGR is shown in Fig. 6. The drawback of
this approach is the possible crosstalk to unused modes, which
will cause loss that can be strongly mode dependent, as well
as mode mixing between the subset of excited modes (which
can be compensated by MIMO processing at the receiver). As
the waveguide is designed to be single moded in the bending
BLAU AND MAROM: WAVELENGTH DEMULTIPLEXER DESIGNS OPERATING OVER MULTIPLE SPATIAL MODES 4400111

Fig. 5. Right: 4 modes of a low index contrast waveguide for SDM enabled WGR. Middle: WGR output simulation. Left: two neighboring spectral channels at
the WGR’s output

Fig. 6. Right: A single spectral channel at the WGR’s output. Middle: subset of 4 first modes of a high index contrast waveguide. The waveguide supports >15
modes. Left: WGR output simulation. Left: AWG transmission. Spectral channel crosstalk <30 dB and MDL <1 dB

Fig. 7. Right: A single spectral channel at the WGR’s output. Middle: 4 supermodes of the coupled waveguides. Left: WGR output simulation.

waveguide walls and imperfections in the multimode direction.
This crosstalk should be relatively weak.
C. Weakly-Coupled Multi-Core AWGR
The third case is of weakly-coupled multi-core waveguides.
This solution requires precise fabrication in which multiple AW-
GRs will be inscribed on top of each other. The distance between
the cores controls the effective super mode index, which al-
lows us to engineer the coupling between the cores together
with the effective index spread. Assuming nclad = 1.44398,
Δin dex ∼ 0.3%, height = width = 5 μm and 18 μm pitch be-
tween the cores, the effective index spread is 2 × 10−4 , see
Fig. 7. However, this solution is complicated to fabricate and
not trivial to couple to and from without adding to IL and MDL.
D. Modal Offset Compensation Through Mode Conversion
Our two last suggestions are designed to compensate the
modal offset, thus allowing wider refractive index spread.
First we suggest to convert the fundamental mode to the high-
est order mode halfway through the waveguide array. This way
the modal spread will be compensated, as the accumulated phase
of the fundamental and highest order modes will be equalized
at the end of the array. However, this solution adds complexity
and potential loss due to the addition of the mode converters on
each waveguide of the array, and is not easily scaled to higher
mode count.
This solution will not compensate the modal offset com-
pletely, when only the extreme modes are swapped. Yet it
will decrease the modal spread which is determined by the ex-
4400111 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 2020

Fig. 8. Right: 4 modes of a multi-moded waveguide in which the modal spread is compensated by mode converters. Left: WGR output simulation. Note that
first and fourth modes are perfectly compensated, and hence overlap and are located at the channel center.

Fig. 9. Right: 4 modes of a multi-moded waveguide in which the modal spread is compensated through multiple diffraction orders. Left: WGR output simulation.

treme modes. Full compensation will require additional mode
converters, whose number will scale as half the number of
propagating modes, complicating the device further. Assuming
nclad = 1.44398, Δin dex ∼ 0.25%, and dimensions of 5
μm × 45 μm, the effective index spread is 0.8 × 10−3 . A
long period grating can serve as a mode converter, with the
grating period satisfying the phase matching criterion. For our
effective index spread, average effective index and center oper-
ating wavelength, we require a grating period of Λ = λc /Δn =
1931.25 μm. Assuming a mode coupling strenght of κ = 0.1
mm−1 [22], mode conversion can be supported over the C-band
with 9 periods (total LPG length of 17.38 mm). With mid-way
mode conversion, the relatively high effective index spread can
be reduced by compensating the first and fourth modes, leav-
ing an effective index spread of only 2 × 10−4 between the
second and third modes (Fig. 8). An additional mode conver-
sion between these modes could copensate the modal spread
completely.
E. Modal Offset Compensation Through Multiple Diffraction
Orders
Our second solution for modal dispersion compensation is
using different diffraction orders per spatial modes. This way
neighboring diffraction orders can be used to counteract the
effective index spread (see Eq. 11,12). Designing the demulti-
plexer in line with this scheme, results in full compensation of
the modal shift in the central channel. We assume waveguide di-
mensions of 5 μm × 14 μm, and equally effective index spread
between 1.5 and 1.6, (i.e., a huge total effective index spread
of 0.1) and fundamental diffraction order of 45. The compensa-
tion is perfect for the central channel frequency, however due to
the diffraction order dependency of the spatial dispersions, non-
central wavelengths will incur increasing modal offsets. Since
we enforced very high index contrast, the modal dependency
will be strong for non-central channels, limiting the efficiency
of this method to the center of the spectrum. For 37.5 GHz
channel bandwidth only 5 channels out of 22 meet our MDL
and crosstalk requirements.
V. CONCLUSION
The design of integrated wavelength multiplexer operating
over MDM with spatial modes arranged along one transverse
axis normal to the dispersion axis, was presented and analyzed.
As standard AWGR rely on spatial separation between the spec-
tral channels, adding spatial modes result in a trade-off between
spectral separation (i.e., channel count) and low MDL. In other
words, spectral dispersion along with modal dispersion leads to
mode-dependent-spatial-shifts and as an outcome, to a reduction
in spectral resolution in comparison standard AWGR devices.
BLAU AND MAROM: WAVELENGTH DEMULTIPLEXER DESIGNS OPERATING OVER MULTIPLE SPATIAL MODES 4400111

Five different solutions were proposed and numerically sim- Thus we can derive the acquired phase for every frequency
ulated for support of four spatial modes in the telecom band. component ω and mode l (0, . . . , M-1):
Three methods focus on minimizing the effective index spread:   
Very low index contrast AWGR, selective excitation of lower dβ (l) 
(l)
Δϕ (ω, l) = β (ωc ) + (ω − ωc ) ΔL
modes within highly MM AWGR and weakly coupled multi core dω ω c
AWGR. Fabricating very low index contrast waveguides is chal-  (l)

(l)
2πnef f ng mλc
lenging due to the large dimensions of the waveguide, requiring = + (ω − ωc )
thick layer deposition (with good spatial homogeneity), and λc c (0)
nef f
 (l) 
deep etching (challenging within silica while maintaining side- (l) 
wall smoothness and verticality). The highly multimode wave-
nef f ng ω − ωc
= 2πm (0)
+ (0) (A2)
guide fabrication faces the challenge of depositing highly doped n n ωc
ef f ef f
silica to a height of 25 microns, however etching should be easier
The phase no longer depends solely on the spectral shift and
in this case. The fabrication of vertically stacked weakly coupled
group index; it further depends on the spatial mode’s propaga-
AWGR can be approached in two ways: alternate deposition of
tion properties. As an outcome, the spatial modes are dispersed
undoped and doped silica layers and a single deep etch process
at the output plane in addition to the desired spectral disper-
(challenging, as noted above) or etching each guiding layer af-
sion. In our case, the spatial mode displacement is undesired,
ter deposition, which introduces mask alignment challenges and
since we aim at spectral multiplexing only. Modal dispersion
likely requiring planarization steps after deposition layer follow-
at the output plane spreads the spectral channels, thus it limits
ing etching. The last two designs suggested compensation tech-
the spectral resolution, as well as cause non-uniform mode cou-
niques of the effective index spread by either mid-span mode
pling to the output waveguide. Hence, we wish to minimize the
conversion or the use of multiple AWGR diffraction orders. Mid-
modal dependency and maximize the spectral resolution. We
span mode conversion requires the inscription of long-period
will describe in detail the spatial and spectral shift at the AWGR
Bragg gratings [25], which could be applied to the waveguide
output plane immediately.
width definition (in lithography). Compensation via multiple
As the waveguide geometry is single-mode in the plane of
diffraction orders was found to be limited in spectral extent (i.e.,
dispersion, we are free of spatial-spectral coupling because of
total channel count), due to runoff of the different diffraction
the spatial mode structure when coupling to the output wave-
orders. Of the suggested techniques, we consider selective exci-
guide. Since the waveguides are single mode in the axis of spa-
tation of highly MM AWGR, weakly coupled multi core AWGR
tial dispersion, we conventionally approximate them to a spatial
and modal offset compensation through mid-span mode con-
Gaussian mode of width Δ, i.e., G(x/Δ). The Gaussian input is
version as the more promising solutions, which combine con-
Fourier transformed to a wide Gaussian by the first star coupler
ventional fabrication methods, standard fiber to chip coupling,
of radius R, then excites the waveguide array and accumulates
and low insertion and mode dependent loss mechanisms, though
the array’s phase delay Δϕ:
challenges still abound. However, all five designs have favorable


attributes and can lead the way to SDM integrated WDM demul- Δξnslab  ξ − jp
Ψl (ξ, ω) ∝ G · G
triplexers on chip. A last potential solution is to utilize a free- λc R j
Δ
space based solution, which eliminates the wavevector/spatial
mode dependence (under the paraxial approximation). · exp (i · j · Δϕ) (A3)
where ξ is the Fourier plane spatial unit, p is the arrayed wave-
guide pitch, j is the waveguide identifier in the waveguide array
APPENDIX – ANALYSIS OF ARRAYED WAVEGUIDE GRATING and i is the imaginary unit. The second star coupler Fourier
ROUTER SUPPORTING MULTIPLE SPATIAL MODES transforms the signal above. The Fourier transform of multipli-
In our case of waveguides that are multi-moded, we need to cation of functions is the convolution of the Fourier transform
express the acquired phase delays per propagating mode and of each function. In addition we approximate the phase delay
frequency. Assuming the AWGR is designed for the fundamen- which is applied discretely to each waveguide, as a continuous,
tal mode, l = 0, the length difference between the waveguide linear function along ξ. Hence:
arms is:

Δξnslab
Ψl (x, ω) ∝ F.T. G ⊗
λc R
⎧ ⎫
Δϕ (ω, l = 0) = β (0) (ωc ) ΔL = 2πm ⎨

ξ


ξ − jp
⎬
2πm mλc F.T. exp i · · Δϕ · G
⇒ ΔL = = (0) (A1) ⎩ p Δ ⎭
j
β (0) (ωc ) nef f
  
Δξnslab ξ
= F.T. G ⊗ F.T. exp i · · Δϕ
λc R p
We denote the propagation constant and effective refractive ⎧ ⎫
(l)
index of the lth mode β (l) , nef f (e.g., β (0) is the propagation ⎨
ξ − jp ⎬
constant of the fundamental mode), and ωc and λc are the central ⊗ F.T. G (A4)
⎩ Δ ⎭
j
frequency/wavelength of the AWGR.
4400111 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 2020

The sum of Gaussians in the right expression, can be recast as Denoting the displacement of the diffraction orders by
a convolution of a Gaussian with a Dirak comb array function, xF S R = λc · R/(nslab · p):
or a sum of delta functions:  
Δ
   Ψl (x, ω) ∝ G x
Δ · ξnslab p · xF S R
Ψl (x, ω) ∝ F.T. G
λc R    (l) 
 (l) 
   x xF S R nef f ng ω−ωc
ξ · G − j+m (0)
+ (0)
⊗ F.T. exp i · · Δϕ j
Δ Δ n n ωc
ef f ef f
p
⎛⎛ ⎞⎞ (A10)
  
ξ This expression consists of a wide Gaussian envelope, the
⊗ F.T. ⎝⎝G ⊗ δ (ξ − jp)⎠⎠
Δ j
Fourier transform of the individual waveguide output multi-
      plied by the dispersed signal, namely the sum of offset Gaus-
Δ · ξnslab ξ sians whose position is wavelength and mode dependent. The
∝ F.T. G ⊗ F.T. exp i · · Δϕ
λc R p (l) (0)
mode dependency is expressed by nef f /nef f , which results in
⎛ ⎛ ⎞⎞ a mode dependent translation, and the spectral dispersion by
   
ξ ∝ ng (ω − ωc )/ωc thus having unique dispersive strength. For
⊗ ⎝F.T. G · F.T. ⎝ δ (ξ − jp)⎠⎠ (A5)
Δ j
j = −m we get the main diffraction order, and sinceΔ ∼ p, the
first Gaussian is the window function suppressing the neighbor-
The Fourier transform of the two convolved functions is ing diffraction orders.
(l) (0)
the multiplication of their Fourier transforms. Using fx as the For nef f → nef f Eq. A10 converges to the description of an
Fourier pair variable to ξ (late we will convert fx to the real AWGR of the single mode case:
spatial coordinate x):
 
  Δ
λc R Ψl (x, ω) ∝ G x
Ψl (x, ω) ∝ G (Δ · fx ) · G fx p · xF S R
Δ · nslab
      x xF S R
 
ng

ω − ωc

Δϕ j · G − j+m 1+
⊗ δ fx − ⊗ δ fx − (A6) Δ Δ nef f ωc
p j
p j
(A11)
G(Δ · fx ) can be excluded from the sum over j since it is
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4400111
Miri Blau received the B.Sc. degree in electro optics engineering from the
Jerusalem College of Technology, Jerusalem, Israel, in 2010. She is currently
working toward the Ph.D. degree with the Department of Applied Physics,
Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, under the supervision of Prof. Marom.
Her research deals with space division multiplexing for overcoming the capacity
crunch accompanied by lower implementation costs than single-mode-based
optical communications.
Dan M. Marom (S’99–M’00–SM’08) received the B.Sc. degree in mechanical
engineering and the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering, both from Tel-Aviv
University, Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1989 and 1995, respectively, and received the
Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of California, San
Diego (UCSD), San Diego, CA, USA, in 2000. From 2000 until 2005, he was a
Member of the Technical Staff with the Advanced Photonics Research Depart-
ment, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, where he invented and headed the
research and development efforts of MEMS-based wavelength-selective switch-
ing solutions for optical networks. Since 2005, he has been with the Applied
Physics Department, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, where he is
currently serving as Department Chair and leads the Photonics Devices group.
His research interests include creating photonic devices and sub-systems for
switching and manipulating optical signals in guided-wave and free-space op-
tics solutions using light modulating devices, nonlinear optics, and compound
materials.
Prof. Marom is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, a Senior Member
of the IEEE Photonics Society and an Elected Member of that Society’s Board
of Governors. He was the recipient of the IEEE Photonics Society Distinguished
Lecturer Award in 2014 and 2015. From 1996 to 2000, he was a Fannie and
John Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellow with UCSD, and was a Peter Brojde
Scholar in 2006–2007. He was one of two Senior Editors for Photonics Tech-
nology Letters, handling all photonic-device-related submissions. He serves as
Steering Committee Chair for the International Conference on Optical MEMS
and Nanophotonics.